The Baltimore Big Band with Gene Walker conducting will perform at 8 p.m. in the parking lot of Shiloh Christian Community Church, 801-825 Yale Ave. The church will sell food and soft drinks.

Visitors are invited to listen to the music, make friends and promote "unity in the community," said event volunteer Lillian Crocker.

Maryland SPCA to hold class for kids Saturday

The Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will hold Kids' Corner, a free class covering topics such as how to play safely with animals, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at 3300 Falls Road in Baltimore.

Other topics include how to approach an animal. Children will meet the "doggy instructor" and an animal guest. They will also receive a certificate and "care package" upon completing the class.

Registration: 410-243-7692, Ext. 3.

In Baltimore County

Public invited to series of talks on Smart Growth

TOWSON - Baltimore County Office of Planning has begun a speaker series to present recent ideas on Smart Growth and community design.

The series begins at the county Planning Board's meeting Thursday with Tom Hylton, author of Save Our Land; Save Our Neighborhoods, a book that links maintaining livable communities and preserving rural land. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. in Room 407, 401 Bosley Ave.

Speakers are planned Sept. 5 and 19, Oct. 3 and Nov. 7. While the speakers are invited to help the Planning Board in its deliberations, the public is welcome.

Center offering kids' camp for Spanish and Japanese

OWINGS MILLS - A youth center sponsored by the Community College of Baltimore County will offer a language camp for children ages 7 through 11 at the CCBC extension center, 110 Painters Mills Road.

A two-week session will be held from 9 a.m. to noon beginning July 29. The camps will focus on Spanish and Japanese language and culture.

Information: 410-780-6533.

County opens rec center on Gywnn Oak Avenue

WOODLAWN - Baltimore County has opened a $900,000 community center in the 2100 block of Gwynn Oak Ave., the sixth such center to be built by the Ruppersberger administration.

The 9,000-square-foot recreation center features a 6,000-square-foot gymnasium, an activity room and a meeting room. It was dedicated Friday morning.

The building, said County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, is part of a program "to bring new life to Baltimore County's older neighborhoods and provide recreational opportunities for our young people and families."